The Affordable Care Act is expected to be a major issue in midterm elections, and only 37 percent of voters approve of how Obama is handling its implementation.

Other issues include the economy and the situation involving Ukraine and Russia. According to the poll, 42 percent approve of Obama’s handling of the economy, and 34 percent approve of his handling of the crisis in Ukraine.

In the past, when a president’s approval rating was below 43 percent, candidates in the president’s party lost 72 percent of the time during 58 previous Senate races, wrote Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight.com.

The news met with mixed reactions on Twitter.

New WaPo poll probably lowballs Obama approval by a few pts. Opinions on unified vs. divided control mean little: http://t.co/9q1GojMZcc

President Obama's approval rating has hit a new low and could help Republicans in fall elections. The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll showed Obama's approval rating fell to 41 percent, down from 46 percent during the first three months of the year.